I got up at 6am so I could make it to the Pascua Yaqui Justice Center, south west of Tucson, at 9.  Two hours at 75mph on the old Nighthawk at that hour of the morning was a lot.  I showed up tired, wind blown, a bit shaky, and my stomach upset from having fed naught but coffee, but with four minutes to spare before people started settling in.

Two meetings were being held:  a general meeting, and a meeting for the 5 Year Plan.  I filled out a yellow card to speak during the 5 Year Plan portion of the meeting then staked out a seat in the front row.  In the front of the small auditorium, about 8 or 10 people sat behind tables.  Their names and positions (board member, directory, and so forth) were old style wooden widgets like people used to all have on their desks.  They talked among themselves, thanking their hosts, the Pascua Yaqui tribe, for their hospitality and thanked them for the accommodations.

The comment portion of the 5 Year Plan meeting happened second.  I had made some notes the night before of what I wanted to say, but I rewrote them while I waited to be called.  There were no shortage of speakers.  Owners of construction companies stood up and spoke in their three piece suits.  A board member from the Nogales Tourist Association spoke.  A mayor from a local small city spoke; then it was the director of a regional airport, a representative of Southwest Gas, someone from an association of local businesses, PAG (Pima Association of Governments, the regional organization that handles efforts such as public transit that span cities) had their interium director there.  A Mexican consulate spoke about the importance of ground transportation between the US and Mexico, and about how our manufacturing is now so intertwined that goods cross the boarder multiple times before being assembled into a finished project.  There were others.

Some people asked for help with specific dangerous intersections that have had a lot of accidents.  Many, such as the mayor and construction companies, had no particular agenda except to re-affirm their ongoing working relationship with ADOT, and were essentially saying “hello, good to see you”.

I was called, so I stood up, walked over, said good morning to the board and chairman, introduce myself as Scott Walters, with Tempe Bicycle Action Group, and said, approximately:  We work closely with the City of Tempe and with the Maricopa Association of Governments, for example conducting the Tempe Bike Count and helping with Bike to Work Day.  Last year in the Bike Count, we counted 28 locations, for 4 hours, and tallied near 7,000 cyclists.  I’m here to ask for alternatives to highways, such as light rail and bike paths.  Young professionals increasingly want to live near city centers, not in suburbs, and to spend their money on entertainment, not on car ownership.  Safety is the number one reason people don’t ride bikes.  Often roads have 45mph limits with no other way through.  Many people ride anyway, and often the wrong way, or on the sidewalk, which are more dangerous for cyclists.  By DOTs statistics, there was a drop from 37,000 to 32,000 road fatalities from 2008 to 2011, but pedestrian and cyclist deaths rose from 12% to 16% of those fatalities.  Please include bicycles and pedestrians in the 5 Year Plan.  Thank you for your time and attention.

And then I sat down again, and other people continued to speak.  In all, these three minute addresses to the board amounted to an hour.

After the public comments period, the 5 Year Plan meeting was had.  It was a meeting conducted entirely for the benefit of the observing public.  None of the ADOT staff or board present made any motions or reported anything new to each other, but there was still some formality, with the chief engineer re-presenting the three alternative plans (A, B, and C) and giving background on them.

ADOT is facing a budget reduction from 2.6 billion to 1.9 billion.  As part of dealing with that, the engineering staff was asked to prepare three different plans, one maximizing new development, one maximizing maintenance, and another serving as a compromise.  The road projects considered are various highway corridors and connections, highway on ramps, bridge work, and so forth.

1.9 billion sounds like a lot of money, but ADOT, like state transportation departments across the country, has worked year after year to expand the road network, and in doing so has created a serious maintenance obligation.  Being able to do new development in the next five years amounts to neglecting maintenance in the hopes that there is a surplus later to catch it up.

The meeting started with a presentation as a sort of report by the chief engineer, with pretty graphs of funds allocation, maps of projects, and background on the projects.  The two projects being carried forward are ones that primarily have money coming from external sources.  Then the board talked about things amongst themselves for the benefit of the audience.

Arizona is a rare state that does not fund road projects with gas taxes.  Reportedly, each cent of gas tax would give them another 30 million dollars a year.  I strongly suspect that you could make some friends in ADOT if you become a major advocate for the gas tax.

Here are some quotes from the 5 Year Plan meeting:

We really do want comments – we’d like you to encourage your friends to file formal comments  – Scott, the lead traffic engineer

Thank you all for being respectful concerning the budget shortfall when making comments.

In the past, 76% [of the budget] was spent on expansion.

Approximately 600 comments were filed.  300 of them spoke in support of alternate transportation.  300 spoke in support of Plan A, B, or C.

Your input is very import to us and does affect how transportation funds are spent. – Chairman Victor Flores.  [This was spoken very earnestly, almost as a plea, as if the audience possessed a voice of reason that would spare him from a consuming madness.]

A lot of these organizations want to be at the table but in my opinion, they need to take the lead.  We’re viewed skeptically. – Council Member Joe La Rue [I knew it!]

ADOT cannot make these decisions alone.  Economic development is a wise place to put money. – Board Member John S Halikowski

Individual contribution [to roadways] comes to about $288 a year. – Board Member Joe La Rue.

People who spoke here today – you’ve got to get fired up! – Joe La Rue

That’s it for the direct quotes.

I think I learned a lot about how politics works today, and the stereotype is wrong.  The more people I meet working in the city, state, and in organizations like MAG, the more I realize that these guys are trying really, really hard to do a good job, and they want help and friends as badly as we do.

Then, a reporter from KVOA snuck up to the front row and asked for an interview, so, hey, maybe I’m on TV in Tucson.

I’d like to make the Flagstaff meeting on May 10 as well.  It seems fitting that I would go to Tucson to talk about Tempe and then go to Flagstaff to talk about Tucson.  I want to stand up for my three minutes and tell the ADOT board and engineers about how my friends and I rode our bikes all over southern Arizona over and over again, and then went to France to do a long distance ride with people from all over the country.  I want to thank them for re-paving Mission road, and tell them how, prior to that, we had decided that it was maintained by the Beirut Road Department, and they would teaspoon asphalt into the craters every day after using it for shelling practice.  Arizona is also full of wonderful roads with great shoulders.  It seems fitting that since I got to know them a lot better, they should get to know some of their friends from TBAG a lot better.  TBAG, and people on bikes in Arizona aren’t just me, though.  If you’d like to join me in thanking the people working for us and make some friends, please go to http://www.biketempe.org/join-us/update-your-tbag-contact-info/ and get registered for advocacy alerts.

That was amazing.  Neighbors, commuters, retirees, students, cycling
enthusiasts from other cities, and one city council member joined
forces to do real work to make Tempe a more safe, friendly place.

A lot is happening in Tempe right now.  Tempe in ten years is going to
look very different.   University Drive from Ash to Priest is being
redone, largely in response to influence from the surrounding
neighborhoods:
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/jackalope/2012/08/tempe_university_drive_bike_paths.php
(the design has changed since then).  Likewise, Broadway,  http://www.tempe.gov/index.aspx?page=492, and Hardy are
set for renovations.  The city is looking into executing plans to put
in an overpass over I-10 connecting Tempe to south Phoenix.
Currently, bicycles must ride on Southern to make the trip.

We’re interested in seeing how new and improved infrastructure affects
cycling.  We expect to learn a lot next year about the impact it has
on cycling volume and habits.

Every one of the 56 intersections were selected for some reason and helps us tell something — how much people are riding under some condition, the degree that they don’t ride in other conditions, the degree that they don’t or can’t ride safely under different conditions, and much more.  Some give us raw numbers and help us track trends.

In a fit of optimism, we added a new count site this year — University and McClintock.  Something happened this year that almost, but never quite happened last year — volunteers picked up all of the assignments.  Previously, we had to decide which handful we’d have to do without.  More people turned out to help.  I want to continue this trend.  Thank you very much to those of you who took two, three, or even four or more count shifts to make this happen.  One of the best things that could happen is for this to continue to grow so that we don’t over tax our volunteers.

The City of Tempe and the Maricopa Association of Governments aren’t just big scary governmental organizations.  They’re made of real people, and a lot of them are really cool people, and a lot of them ride bikes.  They want the same things we do, and we can help them by showing up to meetings and politely, briefly voicing support.  Really, all you have to say is, “This is great!  Please do this.”

Tempe has a lot of projects going on to add and improve bike infrastructure.  MAG is getting ready to do a bike count of their own, city wide, and they’re also asking for feedback on their designs for how to make cities bike/ped friendly.

These are the meetings TBAG plans to have an attendance at.  If you go, you won’t be alone.  Besides TBAG, Phoenix Spokes People (formerly DBAG/PBAG) will be there.

April 11 – MAG (Maricopa Association of Governments) – Designing Transit Accessible Communities Study Feedback
https://www.facebook.com/events/325259440929996/?ref=14
“The Maricopa Association of Governments is requesting your input on the Designing Transit Accessible Communities Study. The intent of the study is to encourage planning practices that improve bicycling and pedestrian access from neighborhoods to transit service”
Meetings like this where you can go and give positive feedback (and say thank you for doing this, this is exactly what we want) are great.

April 12 – ADOT general plan meeting in Tucson
Encourage ADOT to use funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects, not just more traffic lanes.  The City of Tempe and MAG are forward thinking and support bicycle projects, but ADOT controls how most transportation money is spent, and they aren’t hearing from cyclists, only motorists.  We need cyclists to stand up and say simple, obvious (to us) things such as “I ride my bike to work.  Bike lanes are transportation for me.”

Jun 18 – MAG Bike & Ped Committee — MAG Bike Count Meeting
Their bike/ped count consultants are presenting count tech recommendations and locations.  Unlike our Bike Count, they’re spreading their resources across the metro area.  This is mostly of interest to the people who organize the bike count and do stats for it.
302 N 1st St Suite 300, Phoenix, 2nd floor, 1:30pm
http://www.azmag.gov/Committees/Committee.asp?CMSID=1044

MAG: Designing Transit Accessible Communities Study – Public Input

April 11 at 1:00pm in MST

Ironwood Room, 2nd Floor Maricopa Association of Governments 302 N 1st Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85003

The Livable Cities Coalition meetings are easy to go to.  They’re full of like minded individuals working on really cool things, and working together.

Last month, the lady who worked for Governor Napolitano and Governor Brewer to head up the head up the light rail project from that side talked about a non-profit she founded to finance development along the rail line unwritten with grant money.  Many of the developments along the rail line are financed by her organization.

This month, one of the members of a committee with grant money from the Pew Charitable Trust/Robert Wood Johnson Health Impact Assessment Grant talked about how she got grants to do “health impact assessments”.  Health impact assessments quantify cost impacts on health made transportation decisions.  For example, public transportation and cycling infrastructure have a strong positive impact on public health by promoting walking and recumbent riding.  Cities looking at costs of things can consider public health costs related to transportation decisions.  This work provides them with that data.  I talked to her about possibly including some of this data in our Bike Count Report for 2013′s Bike Count.

Tucson (if I got this straight, there was a lot of talk about Flagstaff, too) is doing BRT (Bus Rapid Transit).  They drove a new hybrid bus around to neighborhoods, set up shop there, had people come and check it out, and had them fill out an online survey from terminals set up in the bus.  They got 11,000 survey responses, overwhelmingly positive, in favor of the BRT.   Public transit options reduce traffic congestion and help car-free cyclists with many of the times they would otherwise need to use a car.

Doug Hirano, the Executive Director of Asian Pacific Communities in Action talked about his organization and its goal of empowering and serving the Asian and Pacific communities in the Phoenix metro area.  They’re providing health services, translation services, and are looking into outdoor gym equipment, which reportedly has wide adoption in several Asian countries (including Australia, I think).  I talked to him about the impact Bicycle Saviours has in Tempe.

The presentations are fantastic, but the table talk is also excellent.  AZPIRG’s outreach coordinator made it to the meeting again and we talked about ADOT meetings coming up and the topics being discussed at them.  MAG is trying to extend the rail lines, and there’s some debate between street cars versus running the light rail trains on roads shared with cars in places where roads cannot be widened to accommodate the train.  Gene from Phoenix Spokes People (formerly DBAG, formerly PBAG) was there both times I was.  They’re doing a good job of making it to meetings and sharing the cyclist’s perspective with policy makers.

The 3rd annual Tempe Bike Count takes place in just three weeks, on March 26-28.  Training meetings are in just two weeks.  Each of 50 intersections has an AM shift and a PM shift.  76 of those 100 shifts are still available.  You can sign up for just one 2 hour shift, or more shifts on more days if you want.

If you think you can make it, please sign up now to reserve your intersection, and so that I know that we’re going to have enough people, but do let me (scrottie@biketempe.org) know if you have to cancel or switch days.

RSVPs for training dates are used to figure out how much pizza to order.  Local comedian Tim Tagtmeyer will introduce the Bike Count and all of the ways to get confused that you never even thought of.

When:

The count will take place over three days. Each volunteer counts during commuting hours, with morning (7:00am to 9:00am) or afternoon (4:00pm to 6:00pm) shifts (or both).

• Tuesday, March 26th
• Wednesday, March 27th
• Thursday, March 28th

For full details on the Tempe Bike Count and to sign up please go to: http://www.biketempe.org/events/bike-count/

Why:

Traffic Engineering responds well to serious safety problems.  People ride bikes even where safe infrastructure doesn’t exist.  Often, the only way through is on roads like Southern, McClintock, or Rural, where bicycles were not taken into consideration.  The Bike Count lets us show the city where cyclists overwhelmingly feel they have to ride on the sidewalk, something that the city knows is not safe.  It also shows the City of Tempe how many bicycles do come out where safe facilities do exist, which helps them with their goals of smug reduction and congestion reduction.  The raw data has been requested by environmental engineering firms, traffic engineering grad students, and others.  The Bike Count is a fantastic way to encourage making Tempe bicycle friendly, and to quantify progress.  It helps the city help us!

Afterparty:

We’re throwing an appreciation party at Boulders on Broadway for our volunteers!  Come turn in your count sheets, have a beer, and tell tales of the craziness you saw out there on the streets of Tempe.

TBAG will host the third annual Tempe Bike Count between March 26-28 2013. We need volunteers to help count bikes! You can sign up for just one shift on a single day, or more if you want. Sign up! Bring a friend!

Our goals for the bike count:

• Document the number of people currently cycling and monitor how the number changes over time
• Publish a report of findings from the bike count
• Use the information to help prioritize infrastructure improvements and traffic safety
• Share bike count data with the public, other organizations, governmental groups, and individuals

When:

The count will take place over three days. Each volunteer will count during commuting hours, one morning (7:00am to 9:00am) or one afternoon (4:00pm to 6:00pm). The same location can be covered over the span of the three days.

• Tuesday, March 26th
• Wednesday, March 27th
• Thursday, March 28th

Training:
Volunteers are asked to attend one of the training meetings at the Tempe Transit Center 200 E. Fifth Street (near Forest and College avenues near the light rail station) in the Cassano Room on the second floor.

• Wednesday, March 20th
• Saturday, March 23rd

For full details on the Tempe Bike Count and to sign up please go to: http://www.biketempe.org/events/bike-count/

Afterparty:

We’re throwing an appreciation party at Boulders on Broadway for our volunteers!  Come turn in your count sheets, have a beer, and tell tales of the craziness you saw out there on the streets of Tempe.

At TBAG, we want all bicycles to have properly inflated tires, well oiled chains, and lights at night.  Lights are easier to buy and distribute than properly inflated tires, so I’m organizing a small team of volunteers to hand out lights.  Get in touch (scrottie at biketempe.org) if you’d like to help with this or other “action” programs, such as canvasing the spokes of ASU bikes with bike safety spoke cards, and I’ll add you to the mail list.

TBAG has two premier bicycle valets it puts on each year:  Oktoberfest and the Greater Arizona Beer Festival.

Oktoberfest, http://www.tempeoktoberfest.com, runs October 11-13.  The Greater Arizona Beer Festival, http://www.azbeer.com/tempe.htm, is March 2nd.

We need a Chief Volunteer to make sure these events happen!  Will that be you? Will you organize the legions of other volunteers into shifts, make sure fences get rented and delivered, get people to haul bike racks from storage, find the claim tickets, and make sure that cyclists have a safe place to leave their bike while they sample fine beers?  Get in touch with me (scrottie at biketempe.org).  Our bicycle valets are great visibility for TBAG and a great service for Tempe.  We would do more if we could — we’ve been asked to — but we need to make sure that these two happen.

In April 2012, the second annual city-wide bike count in Tempe was conducted as a way of understanding cycling habits and to identify routes and intersections that are problematic or dangerous.  In total, 6,563 bicyclists were counted from a total of 28 different locations, with 26 locations common between 2011 and 2012.

Get the report here [pdf]: Tempe_Bike_Count_Report_2012